I have this headset that I've been using for years and whenever it breaks I buy a new one. it costs like 20 bucks and everyone tells me it sounds better than other headsets ive tried that cost 60-100 bucks. I returned the more expensive ones and now i just use my sick $20 headset. china good folks :china-stars:

    • MedicareForSome [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      KZ did just have a 'scandal' where it turned out their headphones with 3 drivers had 2 fake drivers in them. However, doesn't change the sound.

  • Yurt_Owl
    ·
    2 years ago

    This post makes me shudder in e-waste

    • Awoo [she/her]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      If it's any consolation the more expensive ones also often break in around that time frame too. :doomer:

      • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I've been using a $70 sennheiser headset for like 15 years now, it just needs new ear cushions

      • Yurt_Owl
        ·
        2 years ago

        Well i cant say much for headsets cos i know they're all cursed plastic trash regardless of price but my mic and headphone combo both with replaceable cables and ear cups has lasted me about 10 years. My in ears with replaceable cables lasted even longer but i stupidly poured a load of water into one by accident and it died.

        • Awoo [she/her]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I can't wear in-ears for any length of time, my ears are delicate :(

    • Shoegazer [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      It’s only e-waste if you get the bottom of the barrel trash they crank it and send to stores in the US. Gotta find the good sellers since those will last a long time

  • CheGueBeara [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    In my experience the beauty of Chinese brands is that there are 80 of them selling almost the exact same item - or literally the exact same item from the same factory. And that you might never see that brand again the next time you want a similar item.

    Huawei is an exception, though. They're pretty good and consistent

    One tip: many branded items on Amazon are just a rebranding of some generic thing you can find on AliExpress, often for 1/3 the price. Example: many Anker items are just rebrands. Anker's value is basically a couple design touches and a warranty.

  • ssjmarx [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Bought some Chinese recast Warhammer minis, literally impossible to tell the difference between them and my official ones except they were 1/3 the price.

      • ssjmarx [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Unfortunately I'm not in it, or I'd let you in. Finding out how to contact a recaster is like unraveling an ARG, just keep searching around and looking at cached web pages and you'll find it eventually.

    • Dangitbobby [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Games Workshop is a total shit company, completely run by attorneys. Never feel bad about shafting them when it comes to money.

  • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I make little electronics for music related things, like synthesizers, effects, etc. Chinese parts are ten times cheaper than anything else I've found and they work exactly the same.

    • Mao_Zedong [comrade/them,none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      BMLin! Haha uncle Lin. Yeah no he's shady AF nowadays, don't remember the details, but people go elsewhere now.

      I heard of replicas right when I was looking into buying a new pair of shoes. So instead of $150 for a single pair, I got 4 for $120

    • yune [comrade/them, any]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      I'm looking at those airpod knockoffs rn and tempted ngl. The headset is this https://www.sades.cc/productdetail.aspx?cateid=175&ProductsId=328
      If there's any problem with it, it's that after a decent amount of time the cloth on the wire starts coming undone and it tangles up somewhat frequently. The sound quality is really nice though, and so is the mic.

  • cosecantphi [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    I'm not really a Lego person, but I was when I was a kid. My family was too poor to really afford any of the medium to largish size sets, and we were definitely too poor to buy a discontinued set from a scalper.

    I wish I had heard about this way back then, but apparently there was a high quality Lego knockoff company in China. It was called Lepin. They made discontinued Lego sets and sold them for around the same price Lego sold them before discontinuation. And I think they also sold non-discontinued sets for prices well below Lego's price.

    The people in r/Lego absolutely fucking SEETHE when they hear about Lepin. It gets them so pissed off. I think I remember them banning any positive mention of Lepin. It wasn't because of the product quality, from what I've read Lepin was nearly indistinguishable from Lego besides not having the trademark on every stud. They're just extremely emotionally invested in protecting Lego's honor or some shit. I swear, the strain of brain worms that makes these redditors hate Lepin so much must be heavily related to the strain of brain worms that makes people believe pirating is a moral outrage. Same exact energy.

    Eventually Lego put enough pressure on the situation to force Lepin shut down and to get Chinese authorities to close their factories. But since then a multitude of other companies in China have popped up under the same model.

  • Soap_Owl [any]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    I go to zanny to get glasses. They are 30$ish for more or less the same glasses you pay 300 for at the optimitrist. It's rad as hell

  • Sickos [they/them, it/its]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    I almost always look for a good Chinese brand for any new product my addled consumer brain desires.

    • Skilhunt & Sofirn & Wurkkos & Convoy flashlights
    • Sanrenmu and Ganzo knives
    • Edifier speakers
    • Greenworks yard power tools

    All these brands have been treating me pretty well for a while. They're bigger Chinese brands doing their own thing instead of being knockoffs. Both Greenworks and Sanrenmu are the actual manufacturers behind several "American" brands products.

    Also, I always check AliExpress to see if anything I want from a brand-new "american-owned" brand is there, and most of the time it's very obvious that things would just be drop shipped by said american brand.

    • Shoegazer [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Greenworks and Sanrenmu are the actual manufacturers behind several “American” brands products.

      :data-laughing: why am I not surprised

  • Mother [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Tacklife tools are pretty fucking solid for the homeowner and cheap

  • copandballtorture [ey/em]
    ·
    2 years ago

    The American brand Wyze buys rights to the popular Chinese tech gadgets (robot vacuum, smart light bulbs, cameras) and updates the firmware/translates the software into English. It's pretty good stuff. Except the hand vacuum was underwhelming

  • CommCat [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I just bought a pair of Chuck Taylor All Stars knock offs off aliexpress, they look like perfect copies, but I've only worn them a few times so don't know how long they'll last, but my old pair of real Chuck Taylors didn't last very long before they started to rip. Crazy how the real ones are like $90 CAD for a pair of canvas shoes, and these knock offs were half the price!

  • springsprangsprong [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    In a reverse of this I just switched from a one plus phone to a Samsung because I believed the reviews about better performance and the better 5g support with the weird American networks. Now I have a shittier phone than even the older model OnePlus I had, and the internet speeds have been no different